Arnoud Engelfriet

European pattent attorney Philips

Netherlands

Abstract of presentation

‘Computer-implemented’ inventions (i.e., inventions that make use of software) drive innovation. Europe is a leader in inventions in areas such as medical equipment, mobile phones, cars, aviation and consumer electronics. More often than not, these inventions are enabled by software. Under the existing European legal framework, these inventions can be patented.

In 2003 the EU proposed a directive to harmonize European patent law regarding patentability of these inventions. Despite what is often said, this proposed directive does not permit “trivial patents” or patents on pure software or business methods. Nevertheless, the proposal sparked an intense public debate: should it be possible to patent these inventions or not?

In 2004 the European Parliament proposed amendments that would actually eliminate most patents on computer-implemented inventions. A directive along these lines would have major negative implications for Philips, for innovative companies in Europe and for the European economy in general, leading to the loss of thousands of high quality R&D-jobs in Europe.

Bio:

Arnoud Engelfriet (born 1974) is a European patent attorney working at the IP department (IP&S) of Royal Philips Electronics. After obtaining his M.Sc. in computer science, he joined IP&S and started working on Digital Rights Management (DRM), e-commerce and software. As the secretary of Philips’ Open Source Advisory Board he advises on the legal aspects of open source software by Philips. He has published a large number of articles on the subject of law and technology, and regularly gives lectures and workshops on IP law inside and outside Philips. In addition he is a part-time IP law teacher at the Renmin and Tsinghua universities in Beijing, China.

Events: Software patents

[ close window ]